was silent a moment, and then, with an air of decision, marked by a faint flush of painful embarrassment on her withered cheek as she thought of the unpleasant task before her, she said: “If you will wait here, I will go below and see what I can do with these people…. I do not know,” she said shortly, the faint flush deepening as she spoke, “but I will try.”
She left him and presently he heard voices below, mixed in rapid and excited argument. In ten minutes the old woman returned. In her hand she held a ten-franc note.
“Here,” she said, giving it to him. “With what you have, it will be enough to get you to Paris. I have inquired. There is a train in twenty minutes. Now, my boy,” she said quickly, taking him by the arm, “you must go. You will just have time to buy your ticket and get on the train. You have no time to lose.”
He had been surprised and disappointed at the meagre exactness of her loan: he had eaten nothing all day long and suddenly, with no funds to spare and the prospect of a continued and indefinite fast before him, he felt ravenously hungry. And now it was his turn to redden with embarrassment; he found it difficult to speak, and in a moment said hesitantly:
“I wonder if these people here would let me have a sandwich…. I’ve had nothing to eat.”
She did not answer; he saw the faint flush deepen on her sallow cheeks again and, already sorry for the additional distress his request had caused her, he said quickly:
“No, it doesn’t matter. I’ll get something when I get to Paris. Besides, there’s not time now, anyway. I’ll have to get that train.”
“Yes,” she said quickly, with relief. “I think you should. That is best…. And now, my boy, make haste. You have no more time to lose.”
“Good-bye, Countess,” he said, taking her by the hand, and suddenly feeling for the old, lonely, and penniless woman the deepest affection and respect he had ever felt for her. “You have really been my friend. I’m sorry that I’ve had to cause you this trouble. I’ll send you the money when I get to Paris. Good-bye, now, and good luck to you.”
When she answered, her voice was quiet and her old eyes were sad and tranquilly resigned:
“Ah,” she said, “I was afraid that this would happen to you. I have known so many Americans—they are so reckless, so extravagant, they do not watch their money…. Good-bye, my boy,” she now said quietly, clasping his
